DILLON, Mont. - The Montana Western football team (9-1) defeated the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers 36-12 at home on senior day to claim an outright conference championship, their first outright championship since 1995.
How It Happened
The Bulldogs were the first to strike in the game, marching 87 yards down the field and scoring on a touchdown rush from
Michael Palandri with 7:37 left in the first quarter.
With a 7-0 lead, the Mounties answered on their own six-minute drive that resulted on a field goal from Ethan Cutler to bring the score to 7-3.
On the first play of the second quarter, Palandri hit
Eli Nourse in stride for a 66-yard touchdown pass, giving UMW a lead at 14-3.
A three and out forced by a pair of pass breakups from
Braden Smith and
Reese Artz fueled UMW's following drive that saw UMW score once again with another Palandri touchdown rush for three yards.
EOU would add another field goal to the score as UMW took a 21-6 lead into the half.
The Bulldogs continued their first half dominance as they once again scored on their opening drive of the half, this time on a touchdown pass from Palandri to
Dylan Shipley for 14 yards.
After trading possessions, UMW punter
Eddie Dewart kicked a 52-yard punt to pin EOU on their own four-yard line. The Bulldog defense capitalized on the field position and forced a safety following a penalty on EOU on third and 10.
As UMW got the ball on the following drive,
Jake Humphrey ran for an 11-yard touchdown rush to cap the Bulldog scoring at 36-6.
Though EOU scored once more, the Bulldogs took the win 36-12.
Notables
- The Bulldog offense totaled 440 yards of offense with 284 yard through the air. Palandri threw for 282 yards and completed 21 of 31 attempts. He also added two touchdowns and rushed for two touchdowns.
- UMW claimed the first outright conference championship since the 1995 season, and their first championship since 2021.
- The UMW defense totaled seven pass breakups and seven tackles for loss.
- Aiden Prado and Braden Smith each led the Bulldogs with eight tackles apiece.
- Nourse led Bulldog receivers with 110 receiving yards and a touchdown.
- Humphrey rushed for 104 yards with a touchdown.
Up Next
The Bulldogs receive the Frontier Conference automatic bid to the NAIA Football Championships and will await selection for the playoffs. The selection show is set for Sunday Nov. 12 at 5pm MT.
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